More Topics

Weather Forecast

Letters to the Editor

Posted on Aug 7, 2009 at 11:59 p.m.

Morris is special

community

On Sunday, July 26, my family and I suffered one of the most tragic losses we could imagine -- the loss of our home to fire. It was a dark day for us, and since then, we've experienced many ups and downs as we've tried to deal with the significantly altered circumstances of our lives.

We have often stopped to ponder how blessed we are that things turned out the way they did. We are all well, no one -- not even our pets -- was injured. For this we are truly grateful. We are also deeply grateful and wish to express our sincere appreciation to the valiant firefighters and other emergency personnel who responded to our call for help. They risked their lives combating the blaze and trying to save our home.

We are also very grateful to the individuals, families, and organizations who stepped up in some rather incredible ways to help our family through this crisis. I cannot mention them all, but I do want to point out a few.

First, our wonderful neighbors, friends, and members of our church who were there from the beginning and throughout to offer their support to us - including helping us sift through the wreckage for salvageable items, providing us meals and a place for us and our pets to stay.

The Red Cross, and the people who make up that organization, was also extremely thoughtful and helpful in extending their resources to us when we had literally nothing but the clothes on our backs.

Finally, the many people from throughout the community who responded so compassionately to our situation in their unique and caring ways. On one occasion, we returned to our rental car to find an envelope containing a certificate for a complete meal for our family at a local restaurant. On another occasion I went to a store in town looking for a pair of swimming trunks to replace those that had been lost. I found a pair and took my selection to the cash register to pay for them. The woman behind the counter looked at me as I took my wallet out to pay for them, and she simply shook her head, "No." At first, I was unsure of the meaning of her gesture, but then quickly realized that she meant that I did not need to pay for them. I was moved deeply by her thoughtfulness.

So many times over the last week, we have uttered blessings upon the heads of these wonderful people and the entire Morris community for their outpouring of love and compassion. We knew when we moved to Morris that there was something truly special about this community. As we leave to embark upon another chapter of our lives, we understand on a deep, personal level what that something is.